The first round of each pool ended on March 12th, Japan time, and the eight teams that will advance to the quarterfinals have been decided. In addition to teams that have advanced through the first round in six consecutive tournaments since the first tournament, there are also teams that will advance for the first time in the sixth tournament. The quarterfinal round pairings and match schedule are as follows.
*All dates are in Japan time.

▼14th (Sat)
7:30 PM: Dominican Republic (Pool D, 1st place) vs. South Korea (Pool C, 2nd place)
9:00 AM: Canada (Pool A, 1st place) vs. USA (Pool B, 2nd place)

▼15th (Sun)
4:00 PM: Italy (Pool B, 1st place) vs. Puerto Rico (Pool A, 2nd place)
10:00 AM: Japan (Pool C, 1st place) vs. Venezuela (Pool D, 2nd place)

Korea, which advanced to the first round for the first time in four tournaments since 2009, will face the Dominican Republic, which advanced to the finals in first place after winning all four games in Pool D. Featuring some of MLB's best sluggers in Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., the Dominican Republic posted a team batting average of .313, 13 Home Run, 41 runs scored, and an OPS of 1.130, all of which were the best numbers out of all 20 teams in the tournament. Will the 2013 champions overwhelm their opponents with their powerful hitting?

Canada, who finished first in Pool A, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in their sixth appearance. Their opponent is the star-studded USA team, captained by Aaron Judge. With the USA batting lineup scoring 35 runs, second only to the Dominican Republic, it will be interesting to see how well Canada, with the second-lowest team ERA closer.

Italy advanced from the fiercely competitive Pool B with a perfect record. Their batting prowess shone with seven or more runs in every game and a second-best OPS of 1.038. Vinny Pasquantino, who hadn't hit in three games, became the first team in tournament history to hit three Home Run in a single game against Mexico, who advanced to the quarterfinals. Their opponent was Puerto Rico, who had advanced to the first round six consecutive tournaments and boasted the best team ERA of 1.22. But could they break down their powerful pitcher staff?

Venezuela will face Japan, who are on an 11-game winning streak dating back to the last tournament. Although they lost to the Dominican Republic on the 12th, they have been performing consistently well both in pitching and batting. The three top batting players in particular, Ronald Acuna Jr. (4 At Bat 13 hit 1 Home Run), Michael Garcia (6 At Bat 14 hit), and Luis Arraez (7 At Bat 14 hit 2 Home Run 9 RBI), are in top form.

On pitcher, Orix Buffaloes 's Andrés Machado pitcher pitched in three games, allowing only two hit, strike out five, and giving up no runs. It will be interesting to see if he and his regular battery partner Kenya Wakatsuki will face off against Orix Buffaloes Giants.